People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 237 Argument
The situation was unexpected, and although it shocked everyone, they soon calmed down. Life in this world is difficult, and not many things can really go according to plan. This is when the counselors below come to show their role.

Whether they were willing or not, they had to accept the reality of the arrival of the Yellow Turban reinforcements. In this case, the original strategy of sweeping the rear of Changshan and then isolating and concentrating on defeating Gaoyi would no longer work.

If the Yellow Turbans' reinforcements did not arrive so quickly, as long as they could reoccupy the central hinterland of Changshan, it would not matter if they failed to capture Gaoyi in the end. By cutting off the connection between Changshan and Xuanxia, ​​Gaoyi would naturally become an isolated city.

It would obviously be easier and more relaxed to occupy Changshan and then deal with the attack of Xuanxia's main force.

But now all these have become delusions. The speed of the army's advancement is obviously slower than expected, and the Yellow Turban reinforcements are coming too quickly.

At this time, both Yuan Shao and his many advisers realized that the original plan had failed, and they might be forced to engage in a head-on battle with the Yellow Turbans.

When there was silence in the tent, Tian Feng pondered for a moment and stepped forward first.

"In the current situation, the threat posed by the 30,000 troops in Gaoyi City is limited. The real threat to our army is the 10,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry who have entered Changshan.

According to intelligence, there is another 20,000 main forces with baggage behind the Yellow Turbans, plus they have absorbed 10,000 prisoners of war from our army, so this force is not small.

The Yellow Turban soldiers are better armed and have better armor than our army, and our soldiers are well-trained and their combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated. Although our army has the advantage in manpower, the outcome of a head-on combat is still unknown.

Rather than taking risks to fight for short-term gains, it is better to plan for the long term. My suggestion is to take it slow, deploy troops in a confrontation, and consume the enemy's energy for a long time.

Transform the temporary war into a confrontation between Jizhou and Youzhou. Compared with these two states, Jizhou is superior in population, food, land and resources. As long as the confrontation lasts for a long time, there is no reason for the governor to fail. "

After Tian Feng finished speaking, everyone had different expressions, and Yuan Shao even frowned.

Although this countermeasure sounded good, it was not the route he preferred.

Wars are fought with comprehensive strength. In terms of comprehensive strength, Youzhou is no match for Jizhou in any way. Even if Xuanxia now occupies Changshan and Zhongshan, it is still not enough to gain an advantage over Yuan Shao.

Using the troops in a confrontation to consume Xuan Xia could indeed deplete Xuan Xia's strength over time, but the question is how long would it take?

Guo Tu stood up and shook his head disapprovingly: "This strategy is not appropriate. If we act this way, it will take at least three to five years to see results. We should use this time to take advantage of our existing advantages and march north to defeat them with the might of the general trend!"

At this point, Guo Tu looked at Yuan Shao, then at Tian Feng, and then sighed, "If we had followed my strategy of attacking Gaoyi with all my strength, I'm afraid our army would have taken the city by now, and even if Xuanxia came to help, we wouldn't have to worry about the rear. But now we have to be constrained by this place."

As soon as he said this, Tian Feng was suddenly speechless. No matter what, it was a fact that his suggestion did not produce any results.

But he also knew that even if he really adopted Guo Tu's advice, it might not have any good effect.

Is Gaoyi City really that easy to attack? The combat range of a siege is fixed, and it is not something that can be solved by simply piling up troops.

If they fail to capture the city or suffer heavy casualties, will they be able to deal with Xuan Xia's reinforcements?

After all, Guo Tu was just taking advantage of the opportunity to speak after the fact, but it must be said that speaking after the fact is indeed useful at this critical moment, at least Yuan Shao was affected by these words.

Yuan Shao did feel a little regretful now, thinking that if he had listened to Guo Tu earlier, things might have been much simpler.

Guo Tu kept on asking, "Let's not talk about what happened before. Even now, when the enemy army arrives, you claim to retreat. How can you, such a coward, help the great cause?"

Tian Feng's face darkened, but he didn't say anything in the end. He just looked at him coldly and ignored him.

I am in an unfavorable situation now. The more I talk, the more mistakes I make.

Yuan Shao took care of Tian Feng's face. After coughing, he said, "Let's discuss the business. There's no need to talk about useless things. What plans do you have? Why don't you tell me?"

Guo Tu hurriedly bowed to Yuan Shao, and then spoke confidently: "Our army has many soldiers, abundant generals and sufficient food and grass. Why should we pursue a strategy of confrontation? We just need to join forces and attack them. We will surely be able to defeat them in one battle!"

In fact, Guo Tu had no idea whether he could win if he fought with all his strength, but he knew that fighting with all his strength must be what Yuan Shao wanted.

The most important thing for a counselor is not to give advice, but to understand the temperament of his boss, and Guo Tu did a good job.

At least Guo Tu knew that with Yuan Shao's temperament, he would tend to make inconsistent decisions when things went wrong. At this time, as long as he did the opposite of Tian Feng, he would definitely be able to figure out Yuan Shao's thoughts.

This is indeed the case. After he finished speaking, Yuan Shao's eyes lit up.

However, Tian Feng spoke up again: "This is not appropriate. Xuanxia has occupied an entire state and has excellent combat power. They are definitely not an enemy that can be defeated in one battle. I still think that we should slow down the war first. We only need to use confrontation to contain Xuanxia, ​​and then plan to take over Qing, Bing, and Yan states. Once the general situation is established, we can march north to conquer Youzhou in one fell swoop!"

At this time, Shen Pei, who was also from the Hebei gentry faction, also spoke up: "I reconsider the idea. Xuanxia's soldiers are sharp and powerful, and they are indeed a strong enemy. If the governor wants to pursue a great cause, he should follow the principle of taking the easy first and then the difficult. In comparison, Qing, Yan, and Bing are easier to take. Giving up the easy and taking the difficult is really unwise!"

The two of them were indeed very convincing in their arguments, and Yuan Shao's thoughts, which had just been inclined, hesitated again. It was indeed a very common sense principle to start with the easy and then the difficult. In comparison, Xuanxia was much more hateful than the external forces in Qing, Bing, and Yanzhou. It seemed that it was not a good choice to keep fighting with Xuanxia and delay its development.

Yuan Shao frowned and said, "Are we going to give up Changshan and Zhongshan counties? If we give in, won't Xuan Xia be able to take whatever he wants?"

Tian Feng said again: "What the governor said is very true. Changshan and Zhongshan cannot be abandoned. Therefore, we should slow down the attack and make plans gradually. We can use Changshan and Zhongshan as battlefields to consume the power of Youzhou for a long time. We are close to them and they are far away. Sooner or later, we can retake the two counties."

Seeing that Yuan Shao seemed to be persuaded, Guo Tu quickly followed up, "Our army has not really fought with Xuan Xia yet, yet you have repeatedly urged us to retreat. How can this be justified? Could it be that you have really been frightened by the Yellow Turbans?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Feng just snorted coldly and didn't bother to respond at all.

Yuan Shao was overwhelmed for a moment, and turned to ask Guo Tu: "It is not unreasonable to start with the easy and then the difficult. If you have a better idea, just say it, and I will adopt the best one."

Guo Tu saluted and spoke eloquently: "Although Chunyu Qiong's incompetence caused our army to lose 10,000 soldiers, the governor still has 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers, and sufficient food and grass. Although the Yellow Turbans are strong, they only have 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers. It is obvious that our army has the advantage. Isn't it ridiculous to retreat without fighting?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Shao nodded, and the balance in his heart tilted again.

Seeing this, Guo Tu laughed and said, "We have to fight first to know whether we can win or not. If the governor wants to achieve hegemony, Xuan Xia will sooner or later become an obstacle. Retreating will not solve the problem."

In fact, by this point, everyone had almost figured out the idea. Yuan Shao was an ambitious man, so naturally he would not give in easily. It was obvious that Guo Tu's proposal was more in line with his wishes.

Xun Chen also stepped forward and said, "As Gongze said, our army actually has a good chance of winning this battle. We can give it a try. Even if something unexpected happens, we will be able to retreat unscathed."

Xu You laughed and said, "They are just the Yellow Turbans. Why should Benchu ​​be afraid? Just fight them!"

Everyone expressed their opinions one after another, and after Yuan Shao listened silently, he finally moved closer to the Yingchuan faction: "In this case, we should follow Gongze's strategy and prepare for a war with the Yellow Turbans!"

Although Tian Feng and Shen Pei frowned when they heard this, since Yuan Shao had already made the decision, they no longer obstructed him.

After deciding on the direction, everyone began to discuss the specific battle arrangements and make full preparations for this war.

For them, this was the first time they fought against Xuan Xia, a strange and powerful enemy. They had no way of predicting how the battle would turn out.

Is this neighbor to the north really that scary?
After Yuan Shao made the decision, several large armies stationed in Changzhou began to withdraw.

Now that the Yellow Turban reinforcements had entered the Changshan defense, Zhang He, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Lan and others could not defeat the enemy in a short time, and there was no point in continuing to deal with them, so they were all recalled by Yuan Shao to prepare for the war in the near future.

After they withdrew, the main force led by Xu Chen finally arrived at Changshan and reunited with Lu Ping.

The armies of both sides were ready and the war was about to break out, but before that, Xu Chen was surprised by another thing.

"You are Taishi Ci!"

"You are Zhao Yun!"

Looking at the two handsome and heroic young men in front of him, Xu Chen's eyes almost lit up. These two names that suddenly popped up were a complete unexpected surprise for him.

Although they were all famous heroes in the Three Kingdoms period, Xu Chen had no idea what was happening after they were captured. After all, the Yellow Turbans had captured countless people along the way, and Xu Chen couldn't be so idle as to discover talents among the numerous captives.

It can only be said that there is a reason why these two guys could become the best of the era. Even if they were captives of the Yellow Turbans, they could still stand out.

Xu Chen actually doesn’t think much of the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, but if one really comes to him, he will not refuse.

"You are great. You spontaneously organized your forces to resist when the enemy raided our area. This not only prevented the people of Changshan from suffering more damage, but also created conditions for defeating Chunyu Qiong's enemy forces!"

Xu Chen looked at the war report in his hand and nodded the more he read. It was indeed not easy to achieve this under that situation.

This battle also confirmed the success of the Yellow Turban Army's construction. Otherwise, the grassroots Yellow Turbans without a military core would never have been able to exert such subjective initiative.

"This great achievement will be recorded in your files. I believe that you will become the backbone of our Yellow Turbans in the future!"

Xu Chen's words of praise and encouragement were very inspiring. At least Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci accepted them with pleasure. Only Ma Yan felt a little aggrieved.

The three of us were standing together, why did the leader only mention their names?

(End of this chapter)